


The Art of Bathing

by explodingmrpond, itsblueandboxy



Series: The Art of Bathing: Steve's Adventures in Lush [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Artist!Steve, Bun!Bucky, Explicit sexual scenes, Guitarist!Bucky, Literally an advert for Lush products, Lush retail worker, M/M, Smut, not slow burn, post-serum Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-18 13:22:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4707470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/explodingmrpond/pseuds/explodingmrpond, https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsblueandboxy/pseuds/itsblueandboxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is an artist, working part time in Lush to be able to get by. On his first day, a man with a prosthetic arm comes into the shop, hoping to get something to alleviate the aches in his bones. When Steve took this job he expected free samples and soft hands, not an immediate crush on his first customer and sarcastic comments from his friends. Luckily, Bucky's pain isn't an easy one to get rid of so he has to make repeated trips to Lush to get what he needs. </p><p>Basically and advert and/or accidental product placement for Lush. Written for Niamh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Honey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsblueandboxy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsblueandboxy/gifts).



> A big shout-out to Niamh, co-author and self-proclaimed Lush addict. Head-cannons went back and forth about Steve and Bucky in Lush before we decided we might as well write one!
> 
> This fic is completed and will be updated every few days. And yes, the name of this fic and all of the titles will be a product from Lush, you have been warned.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

 

 

“Don’t. Do not, do not be doing this to me.” Steve Rogers, specimen, groaned to himself, springing out of bed with the grace of a lamb. “Fuck. Not this. Not today.” He dashed around his room, pulling clothes out of his wardrobe at an alarming rate – “no, no,  _oh god_ ,  where is it?!” Steve ran to his washing pile, hidden on the chair in the corner, raking through it to try and salvage what he needed.

“A-HA!” Steve pulled the white checked shirt, clean, if not a little crumpled, from the bottom of the pile. He gave it a cautious sniff – Sam’s aftershave. He was going to  _kill_   him. But, with a glance at the clock, Steve realized  he had no time to waste and quickly doused himself with his  Aromaco bar  and threw the shirt on himself, hopping around on one foot until he managed to drag black jeans over his trim body. He spotted blue paint of the scruff of his jacket as he tugged it on, shrugging and hoping no one else would think twice about looking at the  at  it. And if they did, he could probably just laugh it off and say it was his niece – Sharon - who did it. That would surely win his sympathy points, right? 

With a final glance at his phone, Steve swore and legged it out of his apartment, barely remembering to lock the door behind him as he whizzed past the other rooms, probably holding the still sleeping bodies of his friends who partied just a  _little_   too hard last night. No wonder he had slept in.

Natasha, ever the supportive friend, had demanded he drink shot after shot last night for “liquid luck”, saying that it would definitely help him feel a little bit more relaxed for the morning. Well, she was wrong – but Steve wasn’t about to tell her that. When he had left her, she had been cosying up to Clint, another friend of Steve’s, and was challenging him to a vodka drinking contest. Steve imagined they hadn’t woken up yet, and possibly still wouldn’t be awake by the time he returned home, either. And even in her hungover state, he didn’t doubt that she could kick his ass.

“Go, go,” Steve urged the lights, revving his bike and ready to jet off – if the lights played in his  favour  he might just make it in for starting, and not look like a jackass who doesn’t care about his job. Steve couldn’t believe this had happened – he’d set six alarms.  _Six_.  And, granted, he wasn’t used to getting up this early and this was most definitely the earliest he had been awake possibly in the last two years of his life, he still thought he wouldn’t have been able to sleep through  _six_   alarms. Alas, he had been wrong. He hoped the shop started late or something; that the morning chat had ran on a little long. 

Despite it being his first day on the job, Steve was very accustomed to Lush and the products he was going to gush about to the first customers to enter the store; maybe if he was late, he would make up for it by convincing customers to buy at least $50 worth of bath bombs and shampoos each. Yeah, he could do this. He had faith.

Luckily, the shop wasn’t too far away from his apartment block and the traffic lights did decided to be nice to him today, so he made it with just over five minutes to spare. Steve parked just a little down the road from the shop, sprinting to the front door with inhuman like speed and almost ripping the glass door open – almost falling flat onto his face in front of his newest colleagues. Hey, just because he grew up and lost the scrawny body doesn’t mean he regained control of his clumsiness. 

“Eh, hey. I’m Steve.” Steve managed to stand up without knocking anything over, running a hand through the back of his head as he made his way towards the group of people standing around the cash desk – most of them women. Most of them who were staring directly at Steve. 

The woman in the middle of the group, a tall, slim, brunette with perfectly pin-curled hair, turned to face him, holding the clipboard tight in her hand. She observed him, running her eyes down his body before running her fingertip down on the clip board, apparently finding his name when she left out a huff. “I thought you were the model they were going to send us over. But no, never mind. One of us.” She smiled to the girls in front of her, and they tittered nervously. Steve grinned awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He approached the group, and they spread out for him so he could slot in nicely. He turned his attention to the lady, now clutching a green apron and a blank name badge. 

“Steve.” The woman thrust the apron towards him, handing over the name badge after he had managed to pull it over his head, hands outstretched to receive it. “I’m Peggy. I’m the regional manager of this division – and, until a new manager is selected,” Peggy turned her attention back to the whole ground, stepping back so she could watch them all. “I’ll be here to help you guys out. It looks like it’s going to be busy today; Christmas is around the corner and mostly people are coming in here to get quick, easy gifts for their mums and girlfriends.” 

The girls laughed, and Steve couldn’t understand what was so funny, but he chuckled too. He had to admit he bought his friends gift baskets from Lush – but it had been with careful consideration. Bruce, who had a nasty temper, received  a soothing Yoga Bomb. Nat got a glorious bar  of Rouge henna to help her get the deep, dark red that she loved.  Tony, well for Tony it had to be – 

Steve snapped back to the situation – Peggy was still talking. Ah crap, he couldn’t believe he had been late  _and_  he was zoning out. There was no way in hell Steve was drinking before a shift, ever again. No matter how much Nat threatened him. No – Steve wanted this to be perfect. This was, really, his ideal job –  he'd heard  about animal testing  at  just 7 years old and had sworn to do  anythinghe could to stop it, dragging his mum along to rallies and writing to local politicians. Finding out there was a company who shared his passions had been a total game changer. He'd been shopping here for years now and used around 8 products on a daily basis so it felt like the next  logical step to finally work for them. And  his art supplies were getting expensive  so the money wouldn't hurt . Who knew canvas and pain t could cost so much? To be fair, Tony had offered to help him out when he needed it – he was already living in the apartment for a fraction of what it should have cost, but he couldn'ttake any more charity from Tony or he'd start to feel like he was taking advantage. No, this job would be perfect, if he didn’t manage to screw it up already.

"Steve, you'll be buddying up with me today; I can show you just how to approach customers, teach you a little bit about the products. And don't worry, I know there's a  _lot_   to learn but-"

"Actually, I know quite a lot  of  things already." Steve blushed as Peggy's eyebrows rose, he couldn’t tell whether she was pissed off at him interrupting  her, or surprised  because he apparently knew so much.  "I'm a  bit of anaddict when it comes to Lush products. I've tried like, everything."

"Really?" Peggy asked, the look on her face finally registering as part interest, part shock. "Then I guess you'll fit in amazingly well here. But, maybe for the first hour or so if you stick by my side, and if you make it through okay this shift, by next time I can easily get you till trained and ready to be a stand-alone member on the shop floor. Sound good to you?"

"That sounds amazing." Steve smiled, genuinely thrilled at this opportunity. Lush had such a big hype about  it, and Steve  wasn't lying when he said he had tried every single  product - he has most of the bath bomb sitting in the jar of his bathroom, seeing  as he rarely had time for baths. Steve  felt  like he hardly had time for anything, even though this was his first job since leaving college and he honestly couldn’t think of anything he did do apart from sit around, drawing and painting and usually having drinks and ridiculous Wii competitions with the guys. 

Oh, and those blind dates Sam and Natasha were always trying to set him up on. Steve didn’t actually know whether they were doing it for a joke to see him squirm with embarrassment  when the ladies ended up being the total  opposite to what  he had been expecting – Steve was down with most things, but he just wasn't ready for the type of commitment that dating a Satan-worshiper  involved .  Especi ally as it involved her wanting  him to donate some of his blood to a feast for the devil ... And on the first  date, too? Steve had been too polite to leave the date early, but thank god he was brave enough to decline the girl's invitation to come back to her flat so he could "support their cause ".  That being said, he was incredibly polite about it, and he thought maybe she hadn't entirely gotten the message seeing as she seemed intent to keep calling him every so often to discuss membership. Sam and Nat really had gotten a kick out of that one, and Steve was  _sure_   they had set that up just so they could watch Steve tremble and cough up nice words for a girl who legitimately talked about Satan the whole time they were eating dinner. And she had ordered  crème  brulee for dessert. Steve was there hours.   _Hours_ _ . _

Nevertheless, Steve tried to push these thoughts aside as Peggy  swept past him to open the glass doors; Steve was freaking out. He could see people waiting behind the glass already, getting ready to pounce and pick up and smell every god-damn thing there was out on the shop floor. Not that he could blame him, everything did smell  _divine._   And a s long as he could coax one person into buying his favorite today, Steve would be happy. 

"Okay," Peggy whispered, sliding over to him whilst customers leaked into the shop as the soon as the locks clicked open, like water in a sieve; far too fast and far too many. "Okay, stay calm. It's going to get a little busy in here today. Most people don’t want help, which is a pain, but are you happy enough to stand by the  sin k  and give demonstrations?" 

Steve was more than willing to do that. Oh god, his hands were going to smell  _heavenly_   when he got home. "Sure, that's no problem. Just with the  bubble bars just now ? " Peggy nodded, walking him through what to do, telling him to offer anybody who looked his way a  massage  to show them how good this stuff was. Steve nodded, setting to work in the water, idly passing time and humming to himself as he watched customers avoid him, which Steve didn’t particulary  mind.

At some point,  Steve was eerily aware of someone watching him, and not in the way he expected Peggy to be watching him, or one of the other members of staff to be watching him to see if he needed help. No, this felt like someone he didn’t know was watching him, and definitely not for what he was doing. Steve turned his head, casting his eyes over his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut when he saw the man slightly poised behind him, watching him. He wasn’t even being cool about it, either. The guy's eyes were locked on Steve's hands, plunged deep into the  jug of foamy orange water , watching as he kneaded and  crumbled a  small chunk of Brightside Bubble bar . The guy must have kn own  Steve was looking at him, for Steve slid his eyes up to meet his, a silent welcome for him to come over. But the guy only held his eyes, a smile glistening behind them.

"Hey, you want to jump in here? The water is nice and fruity." Steve called behind him, staring down into the water so the guy didn’t catch his blush. From what Steve had saw of the guy, he was hot. Insanely hot. There was no movement behind him, so Steve looked back over his shoulder to when the man stood, frozen in place. "Really, it's great. Makes your hands all smooth and soft."

The man chuckled, a low throaty sound that made Steve's knees go a little bit weak. "No, thanks. My hand probably won't get very soft in there. More like rusty." Even though the man's voice had a teasing lint to it, there was a serious note hanging around the edges. Steve, confused, withdrew his hands from the water and turned to meet the guy, wiping his hands on the front of his apron absent-mindedly.

_OH. Oh, shit. Steve. What were you thinking_.  If Steve could have slapped himself right there and then, he would have.  He wanted to sellotape his mouth shut, never speak a word ever again. Steve's face must have shown his worry, his utter shame, for the man now in front of him smirked, a lazy expression  that he wore far too well. One side of his mouth curved up farther than the other, and his eyebrows raised as his eyes dropped to the floor. Steve gulped.  Oh my god, he's hot.  Steve hoped the guy's eyes had been averted long enough that he failed to see the blush that rose in Steve's cheeks, as he himself dropped his head to the ground. 

"I am so, so sorry." Steve said, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe how dumb he had just been right then. "I should have looked – I shouldn’t have said anything. Oh my god, oh my god I'm sorry." Steve lifted his head to peak at the  hot guy, who was, strangely enough, chuckling, his hands over his stomach as he tried to hold it in.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it." The guy gave a grin, which looked a lot less practiced than the smirk, extending his arm to Steve's in greeting. "Bucky."

"Steve." They shook hands, Steve worrying about how damp his hand might still be and really hoping Bucky didn’t think it was sweat. He avoided looking at the other arm Bucky had, a metal prosthetic, sleek and shiny and maybe 100% shouldn't be doused in water. 

Bucky hummed, dragging Steve out of his own thoughts. His hand still held Steve's, his thumb lightly running over the back of Steve's hand. "You're right, honey. This stuff does make your hands soft." 

Steve choked on his own breath and spluttered, pulling his hand from Bucky's grasp so he could thump himself on the chest, trying to get the last cough out of him. Bucky just stood and laughed at him, a light chuckle that was throaty and wicked enough tha t made  Steve want  to hear more of. When Steve recovered, it occurred to him that Peggy was looking his way and quickly tried to relate it back to work.

"Uh, yeah, it's called  Brightside , if you want to come over here," Steve took a step back, turning towards the bowl again and rescuing  the remnants of  the bar out of the water. "It's amazing. There are three types of  citrus oil in here which gives it a really unique smell you won 't find anywhere else. It's also got some cream  of tar tar which  acts as a natural foaming  agent that gives these really soft foamy bubbles..."

"I'm not sure I'm the best client for that." Bucky clicked his fingers together, the one on his flesh hand, drawing Steve's attention to the many callouses there. "Need to keep them kind of hard. Guitar strings don’t take too kindly to soft hands."

"You play guitar?" Steve swallowed. Hard. Oh mercy, who sent this boy to him, and on such a day. Steve was sure he had huge bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep, he hadn't showered because he was late and his favourite white shirt was crumpled, not showing off Steve's best assets at all...  _ Natasha made a deal with God and that’s why I am never to threaten her. She totally signed her soul away to someone to have this happen to me.  _

"What, could you not tell?" As a way of example, Bucky gestured to his body with both hands. Steve took this opportunity to look at him, really have a good look. His clothes were a little scruffy, he was wearing the typical "I play in a band" outfit of washed out black jeans, a grey band t-shirt and a checked shirt over layered it, brightening  up Bucky's outfit  with a mix of green and red. Steve quickly flicked his eyes across Bucky's face so he wouldn’t see him staring at him too much, focusing instead of Bucky's dark hair. Steve could see now that it was pulled back into a lazy bun, tendrils falling down and framing the man's impressive jawline. Steve was now finding it a little hard to breathe. Without realising it, he hand crushed the  bar  in his hands underneath the water, goo spreading out between his fingers as if it were putty.

" Er," Steve deadpanned, trying to scrape off the gunk from between his fingers as he kept his eyes on Bucky, a smile fighting to be on his face. "No, no..."

Bucky laughed, and it occurred to Steve that it was a sound he enjoyed hearing. "Nah, I just play sometimes down at the coffee shop around the corner. I've just came back from tour."

"I thought you said you weren't in a band?"

"A tour of Afghanistan." 

There was a silence as it clicked into place in Steve's brain.  _ Oh my god, I am a terrible human being. Someone, please shoot me right here and now.  _

Bucky chose that moment to save Steve from sinking to the floor in a ball of embarrassment, by actually asking Steve something he could help him with. "Actually, that's what I came in for. I've been having some really bad pains in my, well,  everywhere to be honest. Since I've been back."

"Oh, yeah?" Steve asked. Okay, he could do this. He saw Peggy in the corner of his eye, sliding closer to him to hear what he had to say. Right, Steve's time to shine. 

"We've  actually got a bunch of products that could potentially be  really good for  you. Have you ever used any of our stuff before?"

"Nah, over there you just kind of get used to using a bar of soap for everything. "  Bucky replie d  rubbing the back of his neck, looking a little uncomfortable for the first time.

"No worries, we'll go for something simple then and try a bath bomb." Steve began to shepherd Bucky over to that section as he was talking. "Generally speaking, hot baths are amazing for relieving tight muscles and getting blood flowing to them properly. But the main thing is that you really feel relaxed, so the best things to go for are the usual lavender oil, chamomile etc. Something I could personally recommend would be this," Steve held up  a tiny blue robot-shaped bath bomb for the other man to see. Bucky raised a sceptical eyebrow and s quinted over at it's name tag  " The... Ickle Baby Bot ? Seri ously ?"  Stevelet out a laugh , " I can see why you'd have some  reservations  but  I've yet to find something that matches this for easing my muscles after the gym. And without fail you'll get a good night's sleep too. It's kind of designed for kids – hence why it's so small, but it packs a punch and it 's great value for money at  just  $3.95!"

"Thanks for your help, Steve. I'll be sure to try it out." Bucky winked as he turned his back on Steve, throwing a wave over his shoulder. Steve stared after him a little too long, feeling his insides turn to jelly as he watched Bucky's retreating form, Steve getting a little bit greedy and sliding his eyes down to watch Bucky's ass. Okay, wow. 

"Hey, nice job." Peggy suddenly turned up next to him, stretching up to clap a hand on Steve's broad shoulder. "I think you'll be good around here." 

"Thanks." Steve smiled down at her, blush still prominent on his cheeks from Bucky's smooth talking. Peggy looked a lot less vicious than before, a light smile on her own face as she complimented Steve. She crossed her arms, muttering something about her tea break and letting Steve get back to the soapy water, knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate properly the rest of his shift now that that man was in his mind. 


	2. Daddy-o

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve made a big mistake once, and he'll never live it down with a friend like Tony. Meanwhile, Bucky is having an issue that Steve is more than happy to help with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooow, thank you for all the kudos and comments! I didn't even realise Lush was so popular, me being a novice and Niamh being the worker there. Enjoy the new chapter! Will update in a few days.

 

Steve couldn’t be bothered cooking for himself tonight, his first shift had been hectic and he had only supposed to be there four hours – but Peggy begged him to stay, the flow of people never ceasing from when they opened that morning to when they closed, finally, at 7pm. Steve was exhausted, his lunch break had been a quick bite at whatever the nearest convenient place was, sitting around with new colleagues that were just as tired as he was. There was only one woman on break the same time as he was, when he had another chance to sit down after lunch. Her name was Wanda;  she had henna dyed brown hair, curled lightly and swept back into a high pony tail on top of her head. Steve only noticed this when she slumped into the chair next to him, scooping it up with her hands and snapping a band around it.

"I can't believe today. It's so busy. Too busy. I need water." 

Steve had laughed with her, eyes following her around the room as she pulled out a litre of water from her bag , chugging back a quarter of it without taking a breath. She sighed as she sat back down into her seat, shoulders falling in a defeated kind of way. "I hate Christmas. Like, Christmas time. People go crazy."

Steve swallowed his final bite of his lunch, nodding his head. "Too right. I didn’t think it could get this bad."

"First day?" Wanda asked him, extending her hand out to him like Bucky had earlier. "Wanda." She had said. 

"Steve." 

"Nice to meet you. And I'm sorry this is how we have to meet, me dripping with sweat and too tired to even ask you questions about yourself. You know, polite first-day-at-the-job talk." Wanda laughed, her accent dripping through as she began to talk faster. "I mean, oh my god, I just want to moan. And complain. And don't get me wrong," she risked a quick side glance at Steve to check he knew she wasn’t being serious, "I love it here, but _customers can drive me crazy_."

"Don’t worry about it. I've only been here a few hours and got the rudest person ever," Steve leaned in close to Wanda, smiling as he retold the tale. "I mean, this guy came in and demanded to know where the stuff "for guys" was. I just kind of smiled at him and told him all of everything was unisex. And then he called me a name, scoffed at me and went around looking for something blue coloured." Steve pulled a face, remembering the incident all too well.

"What did he find in the end?" Wanda asked, doe eyed.

"The blue robot." Steve snickered, covering his mouth to not spray his new friend with sandwich and mayo. 

"That is for children!" Wanda squealed, her hands rushing to her mouth to cover herself. "How ridiculous! He'd rather have a product designed for children than one for women! "

Steve shrugged, letting his apple juice slip down his throat as Wanda continued giggling. It was nice to speak to someone who  _knew_.  Steve didn’t get the impression  the guys would understand his rage; none of them worked in retail.

" And it only gets worse.  Customers can get really edgy around Christmas time. My mom only gets like that the day before  Hannukah ." Wanda confessed, wiping the sweat from her hairline with the back of her hand. 

Steve grimaced , remembering the incident last year when he and his friends decided it would be "nice" to have Christmas together, seeing as none of them really had any family to speak of. It started off...okay. And then it wasn’t okay, and then the turkey was burnt and the wine was everywhere and Clint threw a carrot at Tony and everything was just bad. Still, Steve thought they were considering doing it again this year. 

"Yeah, I understand that kind of feeling, I suppose." Steve agreed. The rest of the break had passed far too quickly for Steve's liking, and soon he was rushing back out to involve himself in a parade of the bath bombs and smelling different concoctions people were shoving in his face.

 

So, it was unsurprising when Steve couldn’t be bothered to cook for himself. He had thought about it all the way home, trying out what he had in the freezer that he could cook up real quick and head to bed, but in the end he thought it would be better to crash someone else's home and eat their food for the night. He was aiming for Sam's, because he was always cooking up something heavenly and healthy and right up Steve's street. And he could always do with the added bit of energy the veges gave him. 

However, when he crashed through Sam's front door without knocking, he was disappointed to find that Sam was accompanied by the rest of the group, gathered round the large TV and eating pizza straight from the box.

"Steve!" Sam called out, waving him over the group. "Grab some OJ from the fridge, could ya?"

Steve grumbled in reply, his weary feet carrying him to Sam's kitchen  and pulling out the juice. He pushed the carton to his lips and drank greedily before handing it off to Sam, who pulled a face and wiped the top clean. "That's gross."

Steve shrugged and fell in with the rest of the group, sliding in between Natasha and Sam and putting his feet up on the coffee table as Sam sighed. They were watching a rerun, a comedy show on the TV that everyone was only half paying attention to. Darcy was on her phone, doing that thumb thing where she scrolls through a page and stops and likes things every so often. She often held it up to Thor's face, who would smile and ruffle her hair before turning back to Jane to give her a peck on the cheek, trying to pay attention to her discussing science with Tony and Bruce.

Natasha and Clint seemed to be watching the show, but their fingers tapped on the other now and again, and Steve swore they were discussing secrets in Morse code. Typical, they had time to squeeze in learning something like that even when they were so busy with  their jobs all the time.

And Sam, well, now Steve was here Sam was pushing across a pizza box to him, swigging back the juice as if his life depended on it and lolling his head back on the sofa. It seemed most of them were still recovering from last night. Steve shook his head, moaning as he kicked off his shoes. It had been a long day.

"How was the first day?" Natasha asked him, nudging him with her soldier as she sipped her beer. She looked like she hadn't showered, her makeup from last night still smudged around her eyes. None of them looked like they'd showered, actually. 

"Ugh. It was busy. But good. Met a few good people." As he said that, a blush rose in his cheeks. He'd thought of Bucky. And Natasha was going to be able to read him like a book.

"Oh? Met a few good people?" Natasha questioned, raising her eyebrow. She tapped Clint with her hand, bringing him into the conversation. He leaned in front of her, placing his head on his palm. 

"Was it a  _good_   sort of person?" Clint asked.

"Were they  _pretty_?"  Natasha continued.

"Did they make you blush like you're doing  _now_?"  Sam chipped in on Steve's other side. Steve groaned internally. Why are these guys such mind readers,  in fact, why was his face so easy to read.  He glanced from Natasha, to Clint, and back to Sam, eyeing them all as they stared at him, waiting for an answer.

Steve huffed out a breath. He was glad the others were too involved to pay attention and he only had these three to explain to. "I met a guy."

"Name, age, hair colour, preference, eye colour and occupation." Natasha immediately answered, ticking the list on her fingers. 

"Bucky, eh, I don't know. Brown. Eh? Men? I hope? He sings in a coffee shop, I don’t know what he does for a living..." 

Natasha screwed up her nose, watching Steve. "Get his number?"

" Erm , no, I was at work..."

"So?"

" So?  It was my first day! I couldn’t ask out the first customer that walked through the door."

"You might as well have." Clint joined in, smirking at Steve. "I mean, now you ' re  just going to think about him all night and all day and never get any real work done."

Steve scowled, crossing his arms over himself. "No, I will not. It's not that big of a deal."

Natasha rolled her eyes, sharing a look with Sam. "Steve, you've turned down every single date you've been on, that all three of us, and more," she opened her hands to the rest of the group. "-have tried to set you up with." 

"This is a big deal." Sam stated, sinking back into the sofa. "Steve has a crush."

"No! It's not like that! He just needed help getting some stuff. We chatted, but mostly about the products. He bought something from me – he was just a customer."

"But he was your _f_ _irst_."  Clint commented, waggling his eyebrows. "Your first customer, I mean."

"What was that?" Tony asked, hearing something that suggested talking about Steve's love life, his favourite topic to mock. "Steve's not a virgin any more?"

"No, we all know Steve's not a virgin. These walls aren't the most sound-proof, Stark." Darcy said, eyes not moving from her phone. "Care to get that sorted?"

"Hey, I didn’t build the apartments, I just paid for them." Tony shrugged, moving closer to Steve by sitting across from him on the coffee table, kicking Steve's feet off of it. Steve glowered at Tony, not enjoying everyone joining in the conversation. He checked his watch to avoid more grilling, finding it only to be half seven. Way too early to fake out being too tired and retiring to bed. 

 

"Hey, I brought you guys all back goodies from my first day by the way!" Steve mentioned, throwing himself up from the sofa and knocking everybody else off balance. He walked away from them, dipping into his bag  he'd left in Sam's kitchen and digging around until he found all the individually wrapped packages. Oh my god, the inside of his bag was going to smell amazing. Steve gathered all of the parcels in his arms and walked over to his crowd, all of them now staring up at him and wondering what he'd managed to score for them. 

"Okay, the shop was closing when I got these so I didn’t get much time to pick something special out for each of you." The team all scoffed, knowing that Steve would have been hours late home if he had the chance to choose them all individual items. Steve throw the bags at them randomly, they all had most of the same stuff in them. Bath bombs, shower jellies  and shampoos. Steve would have gotten them all for himself but the fact was that he had overflowing jars in his own bathroom already and he really didn’t need any more. Not that that was going to stop him, of course. 

Steve  shuddered as he  recalled a time he'd had a girl over, and she'd ended up staying the night. It was one of the more successful dates that Natasha had managed to set him up on, but it all ended in tears the next morning, when she had went for a shower and came back out a few moments later,  screaming,  as Steve got ten  bath bombs thrown at his head. She'd thought that Steve must have a live-in girlfriend with all the "girly" things he had in there, and she had shrieked  at Steve and he had been too shocked, and a little bit scared, to contradict her. The relationship had ended there and then  before it had properly began. Steve had thought it was probably for the best. 

And he now stored all of his Lush items in the over-flowing jar underneath his sink.

"Sweet!" Darcy exclaimed, inhaling the sweet aroma that poured from her bag. "At least now  we know  how Steve manages to smell so good."

"And spend hours in the shower..." Clint chipped in. Though the apartment building was owned by Tony, and all of them would have liked to live in their own apartments, it simply wasn’t possible and other people needed areas to live in too , so most of the team ended up sharing three bedroom flats between two of them for space. Steve knew he shouldn’t complain, he was getting the place at a dirt cheap price and he had some of the best friends because of it – and, really how can he complain when Tony had offered the homes up to desperate families and those in refugee centres free of charge? - but living with Clint sometimes drove him crazy, especially as Clint said he used up all the hot water on a regular basis. Okay, so Steve liked taking long showers to use all of his products, sue him. Clint could at least be thankful that they didn’t have to share bathrooms and didn’t have to clean all the sparkles from the bath whenever Steve used a bath bomb.

"I at least clean myself on a regular basis. I swear sometimes I don't hear your shower going for weeks." Steve hit back.

"That's because he's not showering in his own bathroom," Bruce chipped in, nudging Tony and smiling. All of them glanced at Natasha, who rolled her eyes and shook her head, though she had her own smirk on her face so the guys knew they weren't about to get thrown from the balcony for their comment. The group laughed together as they all sat back and flipped channels until they settled on something universal, each of them sinking into the cushions for the night.

Steve wasn’t working the next day, or the day  after that, though he did need to go in to the office and sign some forms and his contract to make everything official. So, almost four days after he had laid eyes on the most gorgeous man he'd ever seen before in his life, he headed into town with Sam to grab a few drinks and see a game in addition to doing the work-related stuff. The game didn’t start until about 3pm, so they had plenty of time to wander around the shops beforehand. But if their first stop was Lush, Sam knew Steve could be there for hours talking with a few people about the products in there. One time, Sam had went in just to browse around and he'd caught Steve in there talking to one of the employees, when Steve had told him he was going to the park for a run around two hours previously. That was a few months ago, and from that moment on everybody knew about Steve's obsession with Lush. And it _finally_   made sense as to how Steve  _always_   smelled so good.  Since then, Steve had always treated his friends to things from there, but he'd never live down the fact he'd once gotten Tony shampoo named, "Daddy-o"  and Tony had insisted on following his round for the next week telling Steve to call him his daddy. 

Reluctantly, Sam followed an enthusiastic Steve inside, repressing the urge to hold his nose when he was bombarded by the tantalising, mixed scents that immediately tried to crawl inside his nostrils. He chose to cough quietly instead, walking around the shop as Steve disappeared into the back with a woman with dark brown hair. Thankfully, he wasn’t gone too long, because when he came back out Sam had already circled the place twice and smelled everything that was there and if he was honest, he thought he was getting a mild head injury. 

Steve sidled over to him, picking up  a tub of Big shampoo  and smelling it, a sweet smile appearing over his face. Sam swore, he only saw that smile when Steve was smelling something good. And it was usually only in Lush. They turned to leave when someone called "Steve!" And both Sam and Steve turned around to see who it was.

"Bucky?" Steve said, stretching out his hand and dropping it at the last second as Bucky approached. "Hey! How's it going?"

Bucky stared at Sam before flicking his eyes back to Steve; Sam swore he saw something in his eyes, a hardness when he looked at Sam like he wanted to bite him or something. And not in the good way. 

"I'm good, thanks. I actually came back to get some more of that muscle relaxer thing – it was incredible." Bucky moaned out the last word and Steve felt all of the hair on his body stand up straight. Oh my god, Bucky could never do that again unless he wanted Steve to turn into jelly. Sam, the onlooker, decided to slip away from the conversation as soon as Bucky made a noise that wasn’t suitable in normal human conversation, faking interest in a soap very, very far away. 

"Yeah, that stuff is great. It was theIckle Baby Bot wasn’t it?"  Steve tried to put his hands in his pockets nonchalantly, rocking back on his heels as he spoke, trying to appear causal. Sam sighed in the distance, watching him. He was so terrible at flirting it was comical.

"The stuff you recommended, it was the best thing in the world. You not working today?" Bucky took this opportunity to lean back against one of the crates , loosely crossing his arms over his body. Steve watched as his body unfolded, mouth a little agape at the sight of his t - shirt  coming up the reveal a slither of stomach. 

"What? Oh, no, not today. I'm just signing some stuff, then going to see the game with my buddy." 

"Your buddy?" Bucky asked, jerking a thumb to Sam, wandering behind him. "You guys not a thing then?" He smirked, knowing what he was doing. 

"Me and Sam? No... No, no, no." Steve shook his head a little too fast for anything ordinary, hoping Bucky got the hint and there was no way Sam would be anything other than his running buddy and his closest friend. Steve liked guys, but he didn’t like his friends. "Me and him are just friends. We live in the same apartment building." 

"Oh yeah?" Bucky asked, face lighting up. "Are there any sp are apartments, do you know? I've actually just been kicked out of my last one. " Bucky shrugged, and it was just then Steve noticed the guitar case sitting by his side and a loaded carrier bag which looked like it had clothes poking out of the top. 

"Oh Bucky... What happened?" Steve asked, wanting to move forward to give him a pat on the shoulder, or a hug. He didn’t though – they were still in the middle of the shop.

"Nah, my landlord found out I was keeping a pet and the apartment is 'strictly no pets allowed'. It's not a big deal if there's no apartments, I can find a motel to crash in." 

"Hey! I know! I have a spare room, I mean I share a place with my friend, but I know who owns the building. Why don't you come stay with us a while? It's not problem, really." Steve declined to note that Tony didn’t really like pets in his own building either, but Steve was sure he could twist his arm a little bit. Bucky's whole face beamed when Steve mentioned it, and he bent down to grab his bag with his mental hand. 

"No shit, really? Are you kidding me right now?" 

"No, honestly. Come on, I can take you right now." 

"Oh my god, really? This is great. This is amazing." Steve turned a bright red and turned his back to leave the shop, not glancing over at Sam to let him know what he had just done. He heard Bucky scramble behind him, picking up his things and following suit, the door to the shop finally slamming shut when Sam tagged along behind them both, before Steve called him up. 

"Sam, this is Bucky. The guy I met the other day." Steve introduced the two men to each other, watching them shake hands and smile at each other. 

"You talked about me?" Bucky said, smirking – which Steve had learnt that Bucky did quite a lot. 

Steve stumbled for a reply, but luckily, Sam stepped in and saved him. "He mentioned you. You know how first days on the job can be – really over excited, talking about everyone and everything that happened. Steve's like an overexcited puppy that way." Steve changed his mind about Sam being a lifesaver and  his expression soured, but Bucky barked out a laugh. 

"I can imagine  it ." Bucky replied, clapping Sam on the back of  the shoulders while they started to walk back to the apartments. "You'll be good to keep around whenever I need some ammo against Steve."

"What do you mean,  _ammo_ ,  I'm literally letting you move in with me. You should be on your knees thanking me!" Steve  joked.

Bucky stared up at him, Steve being quite a few inches taller than himself. "Maybe later," Bucky barely breathed, and Steve was sure only he had heard it. Sam had stopped to tie his shoes and was currently behind them , and Steve  quickly looked around to make sure Bucky hadn't been saying it to anybody else. Bucky chuckled, low in his throat as he watched Steve become a mess, his breathing stuttering slightly when he realised he was talking to him. 

Steve all at once got  an  image of Bucky in  his head that he wasn’t sure he would be able to get out of for a while. Bucky, on his knees in front of Steve, Steve's hand tangled in Bucky's mess of brown hair, tugging on it gently so Steve could easily slide his-

"Hey, wait up." Sam called to them, jogging up to where they were and falling into line. "Sure, just run off without me, that’s cool."

"Sorry man, Steve's eager to show me his living quarters." Bucky said, slowing his pace down to match Sam's. 

"I'm sure he is." Sam agreed, under his breath but definitely so that Steve could hear it. When Sam and Bucky chuckled together, Steve wondered what the hell he had just gotten himself into.


	3. Hottie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get steamy in the shower - and not just because of the Hottie bar and Daddy-O shampoo.

 

Bucky had been living with Steve and Clint for about a week now. It hadn't been too bad, Clint had taken to the guy quite well and even admitted he used to play guitar back in the day. And Bucky admitted he was only just starting out as a hobby and he'd love some tips – and that's how Clint ended  up buying himself a new guitar and every night the two of them could be found in the living area, strumming their fingers against the strings and bashing their palms against the wood. Steve was offended – he'd bought Clint  loads of Lemon Flutter Cuticle Butter to ease away his callouses  from years and years of playing guitar and firing arrows. All that good stuff... was  for nothing.

Truth be told, the whole team seemed to be getting along great with Bucky's company. Tony had accepted him in minutes once he had admitted he didn’t actually have a pet anything and he had just been feeding the strays that lived outside and hadn't argued when his landlord wanted him out. He said it wasn’t a good place anyway, it smelled bad and there were countless drunks on the stairway and in the streets, and Bucky said  it almost felt worse than being back travelling constantly with the army.

Steve couldn’t be mad at him for lying, especially when he had done it to feed some cats. In fact, Steve was sure he overheard Bucky and Nat talking about going back over there and rescuing the cats and bringing them back here, but this plan was completely under wraps in case Tony heard about it. He was more of a dog person.

Bucky joined in with the guys when they sat around together and watched TV, even mucking in with the cooking sometimes when Sam didn’t feel like it; and to be honest, Steve thinks everyone prefers Bucky's food anyway. And Bucky always baked a little something at the end to round the meal off. 

Since the first time they walked home together, Bucky had never made a comment like  that  one to Steve again, and Steve had to admit he was a little disappointed. He couldn’t actually deny Bucky was hot, and he couldn’t face that fact seeing as every one of their friends knew about it, thanks to Steve's big mouth from the first day at work. For once though, Natasha and Sam didn’t seem intent on setting Steve up with anybody, and never mentioned Bucky in that way around Steve. Steve thought they might have finally gotten the picture... Or were up to something even more devious. 

It was one night when Steve came home from work that he noticed them planning something. He went straight from work to Sam's apartment, which had become the new meeting place for the gang to eat food and trash talk people on TV. As usual, they were all sitting round on the sofas surrounding the TV, split off into little groups and talking amongst themselves whilst snacking from the treats Bucky and Sam had combined powers to make. 

"Hey everyone," Steve sighed, flopping into the nearest chair, resting his feet on the coffee table. He was exhausted. It was only his third shift and he was really getting into it, but the long hours of standing on his feet were also getting to him. His throat was a little sore too, he'd spent the whole day behind the cash desk as Peggy trained him, chatting to Wanda in between gushing to customers about the products they were buying. 

"Aw, Steve sounds like he needs a cup of tea," Tony pouted, pulling a face in Steve's direction. "If only someone loved him enough to go and make him one." When nobody moved, everyone cackled in delight at the look on Steve's face. 

"No, no, that's fine, I can do it myself. Just being I work  so hard-"

"Yeah, yeah, save the drama. You don’t know the terrible  effects of working for Tony," Natasha chipped in, checking her nails for dirt. 

"I know, you actually need to spend time with him all day. Nightmare." Clint joined in the ribbing, both of them staring over at Tony like he was the big bad wolf. Tony puffed out his chest and flipped them the bird, turning back to the TV with an actual pout on his face  now.

Steve made to stand up, but Bucky pushed down his shoulder as he sauntered past him, cracking the bones in his back. "I got it, Steve. I needed one anyway. Anybody else?" He asked the room, hearing no replies and walking away to pop the kettle on in the kitchen. Bucky rested on the counter beside the kettle, listening to the water inside it bubbling up. He made to watch the TV, but found himself watching Steve instead; the blonde's hair was wet with sweat, clinging to his forehead. His eyes were closed as he rested back against the chair, kicking his shoes off with his toes and sighing deeply, his chest moving up and down rhythmically.

Bucky wasn’t too sure how long he had been staring when the kettle popped off, signalling it was ready. He made himself and Steve their tea the way they liked it, strong with no sugars and a touch of milk, heading back over and placing it before Steve, settling down in his spot next to Sam.  They all sighed happily together for a while, enjoying each other's company. 

"Hey Bucky," Natasha piped up, eyeing the mug Steve was holding in his too-large hands. "Did you mean to give Steve the mug that says 'I love you' on it?" She smirked in his direction, winking at Steve as she turned to him. 

"What?" Bucky asked, sitting forward on his thighs. "Ah. Yeah, I love Steve."

Steve knew he was joking, but for a moment his heart  started to beat a little bit faster and he had to take a large gulp of tea to stop him from squeaking. 

"You can take that cup of tea as a thank you for letting me move in with you, by the way Steve. I know it's not terribly adventurous of me but... What can I say? The only thing I have in this world is a guitar and an incredible set of abs." Bucky smirked as the group "ohhh"'d appropriately, Jane choking on the biscuit she had happily been snacking on. 

"I'm sure Steve would actually prefer the abs over the  tea, " Darcy said, not lifting her eyes from her DS as she  made the comment. Steve couldn’t help but smile, feeling like he was too embarrassed to control his facial reactions any more. 

" Aaand on that note - I  am going upstairs." Steve declared, downing his tea in one while the room groaned around him. 

"Ah, come on Steve,  we were just kidding on!"  Tony moaned, throwing his hands in  the air. "What's a little bit  of gentle ribbing between friends?"

"I know, I know. I take no offence. You guys are very funny,  ha ha." Steve dragged the bottom of his pa lms over his eyes, rubbing them until he saw spots. "I'm just exhausted.  I'll see you  guys tomorrow, though ." Steve threw a wave over his shoulder as he picked up his bag, ready to head back upstairs and into a well deserved hot shower.

"He's probably  going to go use all of the stuff he's collected from Lush  today." Clint murmured, shaking his head at the obsession. 

"He has to use it straight away, otherwise it will seriously start to pile up and your whole flat would be covered in pink sparkly dust." Sam  chipped back, flicking through the TV channels.

"I'm glad none of us have to share a bathroom with him." Clint sighed, nodding at Bucky as a sort of confirmation. Steve was the only one with an ensuite, so they didn’t have to see all the goodies he had stocked up  in his room . Bucky couldn’t agree with Clint,  he would have been happy to share a bathroom with Steve. Especially as it might mean accidentally walking in on him showering in the morning .

They weren't wrong. When Steve got back upstairs, the first thing he did was strip off and walk into the bathroom, carrying all the treasures he'd managed to snag today. He'd gotten something gorgeous for the  shower,  one of the brand new Refresher shower jellies that made his skin sparkle when he used it.

He was excited to use it, especially as he really needed  some hot water over his back, his muscles were aching. He hadn't even thought about picking up some of the stuff he'd recommended to Bucky, he'd been in too much of a hurry to leave than pay attention to anything else.  Nevertheless, Steve sighed as he turned the shower on, stepping inside it when it was warm enough and moaning slightly when the water  touched him. How can something so simple feel so good?

He didn’t wash quickly, instead choosing to spend the best part of an hour rinsing  his hair and soaping up h is muscular  body with some of his favourite products.  There was a mirror  straight opposite t he shower, and Steve couldn't help but catch his own eye in it, looking down at his own slick body and admiring the hard work he had put in. He had been a scrawny  little kid, with next to no fat nor muscle on his body  and a list of ailments that made a leper look  healthy. That was one of the reasons he got into Lush, and  Lush products.  He'd had some pretty bad skin problems when he was little – still had flair-ups on occasion  even now – and despite four different creams from the doctor,  Dream Cream had been the only thing that had actually made a difference.  Then during the winter months when his chest got especially bad he'd found that the ginger in the  Hottie massage bar helped ease aches and clear congestion.

Eventually,  Steve knew he had to get out of the shower because Clint was going to kill him if he didn’t leave any hot water. Bucky hadn't complained so far about the lack of hot water, but still Steve thought  it was better to be cautious. He turned off the water, quickly to welling his body dry and  knotting it around his waist, holding it in place as he ran another one over his head. He caught scent of his skin as he raised an arm above his head and he couldn’t help  but inhale deeply -  he smelled heavenly. 

"Steve?" A voice called out to him from outside his bedroom, and hearing who it was, Steve clambered across his bathroom and jumped  across his bed,  going to the door and throwing it open. He tried to appear calm and poised, but that can only go so far when he was in a bath towel only covering his bottom half. 

"Hey, Bucky. You okay?" 

Bucky seemed too preoccupied with staring at Steve to answer immediately. Steve hadn't  completely  managed to dry off and there were still beads of water running from his collar bones to his  hips if he made even a slight movement. Bucky already had flashes in his mind of him lap ping them up, sucking at the points where they gathered. Bucky had that grin on his face that meant he was up to something, and Steve had only witnessed it when he had been flirting outrageously. 

"Yeah, I'm good." Bucky purred, purred,  at the sight of Steve, resisting a huge urge to reach out his hand and touch shiny pectoral muscles. "But I thought, I don't have much stuff left to use for the shower. Mind if I borrow a few things?" His eyes were wide and pleading, and for a second Steve forgot about flirting and was about to launch into a speech about all of the different types of stuff Bucky could use that Steve had,  but then he remembered he was supposed to be flirting  and raised an eyebrow , leaning against the door frame. 

"Oh yeah? Sure, come on in ." Steve allowed him passage into the room, Bucky making a beeline for the bathroom with Steve following behind. The air was still warm, the mirrors still steamed up from the shower before hand. 

"What, did you use all the hot water in the building?" Bucky quipped , on his knees in front of the large vanity Steve stored all his products in. 

"Well, if you had been here five minutes earlier we could have shared and saved a tonne of water." Steve replied, being exceptionally  smooth for someone who was practically standing nude in front of th e guy he liked. 

"Really? That's a shame." Bucky said, holding some products in his hands. He stood up, walking back over to Steve and stopped short in front of him holding a product in each hand. "So, tell me, Mr. Expert... Which one of these would be best for massaging the aches from my joints?" Bucky was so close to him now, he could taste the mint on his breath and smell the  faint tinge of the last lush product Steve had suggested for him.

"This one." Steve raised his hand and selected the one in Bucky's left  hand  without seeing what it was, his eyes trained on Bucky as the move brought them in a little closer to each other.  "What do you need, Buck?"

"I need you." Bucky murmured, closing the  space between them and pressing his  lips firmly against Steve's,  taking Steve's breath with him. 

"Oh- ohhh ." Steve breathed, leaning into the kiss and dropping the bottle to the floor, letting his hands come forward to  pull at Bucky's waist. Bucky was flush against him now, and  Steve be came acutely aware of the fact he was only  wearing a towel to cover his modesty. 

Bucky leaned away from Steve, that smirk spreading across  his face like it belonged there all the time. It made Steve's dick jump a little bit, seeing him like  that in Steve's own arms.

"You want to help me out, Stevie? Want to soothe my aches and pains?" Bucky whined, a higher pitched voice than Steve was used to hearing. 

"Yes."  Not taking his eyes from Bucky, Steve slid to the floor and picked up the bottle they had dropped, nodding Bucky towards the shower. "Strip." He ordered. He saw Bucky shiver, and Steve  felt a thrill go through him. He found a kink already.  "You like that?" He asked,  staring down at Bucky  as he shucked the jeans from his body. 

"Yes. " 

"Address meproperly."

"Yes, sir ." Yeah okay, Steve liked this. He waited until Bucky was completely nude before dropping his towel himself, and the two men searched each other, eyes greedy as the y dragged ove r their  bodies, drinking in every scar, every mark  and every muscle.  Steve tried not to pay too much attention  to where the  metal met the flesh on Bucky's left arm, choosing instead to meet his eyes and smiling knowingly. 

“You’re gorgeous.” Steve breathed, his eyes doing a last lap of Bucky’s body before settling on his face, Bucky’s lips pouting up in response. 

“Thanks, doll face.” 

“Is that a Brooklyn accent coming out?” Steve asked, stepping closer to him, hand straight out and blocking Bucky from being able to access the shower. “I used to live in Brooklyn, you know.”

“Date a lot of dames with this sort of accent? Like it?” Bucky drawled, elongating his words in such a way that had Steve’s heart pounding. 

“Yeah. Yeah I like it.” Steve confessed, stepping straight into Bucky’s space as sealing his own lips with Bucky’s, pressing against them firmly until Bucky parted his lips, sucking in a breath. Steve took this opportunity to let his own lips open, his tongue sliding out to caress Bucky’s lips, licking the taste of  Popcorn lip scrub  from them. Steve pulled off and stared at Bucky  incredulously,  his hands snaking up to rest on Bucky’s shoulders. “That scrub is from Lush. You went in there without me?” 

“Had to go in to see if I could find you, doll.” Bucky admitted, face flushing for the first time ever in Steve’s presence . “It tastes good.”

“Oh my god, does it.” Steve groaned, pushing his lips back against Bucky’s, savoring  the taste against his tongue when he risks it a second time. His tongue meeting Bucky’s, he pressed and flicked until Bucky was moaning into his mouth, his shoulders loosening under Steve’s grip. 

“You-You’re good at that,” Bucky said when Steve let go of him, turning him around and pushing him towards  the  shower. 

“Go.” Steve simply said, not acknowledging the comment at all, watching Bucky’s ass as he climbed into the shower, turning on the water and letting it spray over him. It was sight to see, the water dancing over the hard muscle of Bucky’s body, Bucky tensing his muscles as he watched Steve watch him. Steve quietly observed, his hand running down his body and lightly over his cock, holding back a sigh as his fist closed around it. Somewhere between the first kiss between them and Bucky stripping off, Steve had grown fully erect without having noticed  and now it was an incessant want that needed to be touched now that Steve was alone, now that Bucky was covered in water.

“Are you coming in, Stevie?”  Bucky  keened, tipping his head back underneath the water and letting it soak his locks,  the bun unraveling and the full length of Bucky’s hair becoming drenched in water. Steve was right, he did look gorgeous. Especially under the lights, the water gleaming from his skin, the hard muscle that desperately, oh so needed to be touched… Steve nodded his head, stepping into the shower and immediately taking up most of the room, pressing Bucky back against the glass back of the shower. 

“Gorgeous.” Steve growled, his hands grasping Bucky’s hair and running his fingers through it, his mouth making a beeline for Bucky’s throat. Steve had no mercy as he attacked Bucky’s, dusting his throat with pinches of his lips and teeth, hard open mouthed kisses pressed to his pulse points and the spot just below his ears. Steve listened to each sound Bucky made,  taking note of more sensitive spots that had Bucky keening, pressing his body harder against Steve’s lips. 

“Steve,” Bucky breathed out, him panting a little harder than when they had started out. Beads of water dripped down his face and balanced on his lips, and Steve had the urge to dive straight onto them and lap them up, tasting the salt mixing in with the clean water. Lamenting, Steve decided against it and sunk his teeth into Bucky’s collarbone, soothing the marks with a caress of his tongue. With that movement, Bucky seized Steve, his arms wrapping around Steve’s back and pulling him flush against him, Steve finally being able to feel Bucky’s full length pressed to his stomach. Steve moaned at the touch, feeling Bucky’s mouth searching for his and kissed him, hard, their tongues meeting each others and tasting what they could taste. 

“Stevie,” Bucky whispered, pulling from Steve’s mouth. Steve growled, a low sound in his chest, resting his head on Bucky’s shoulder as the shiver ran through him again. Pet names, already. And Christ, they were good. “Stevie,” he said again, lifting Steve’s head up so he could look into his eyes. “I never thanked you properly for letting me move in.” 

Steve’s eyes went wide as he was pushed back against the shower door, the water cascading down his chest, making his appear like a marble statue in a fountain. Bucky’s hands massaged the front of Steve’s body, beginning at his shoulders and working their way down, stroking contently at the muscles that flexed underneath his touch. He flicked his eyes up to Steve as he danced his fingers across Steve’s nipples, watching Steve suppress a groan until Bucky twisted one in his mental hand, soothing it with a quick lap of his tongue. Steve pressed the palms of his hands back against the glass, fingers searching but finding nothing to hold on to. His legs had began to quake, his cock aching for attention as it leaked precum, rubbing against his stomach with every agonisingly slow movement Bucky made down his body. 

“Buck, come on. I’m dying here.” Steve pleaded, forgetting he was the one supposed to be in charge. 

“I’m enjoying myself. Aren’t you?” Bucky asked, falling to his knees and tauntingly kissing around Steve’s belly button, flicking his tongue around the smooth skin. There wasn’t a single hair on Steve’s stomach, and Bukcy shuddered as he made his way slowly, slowly down, listening to Steve’s frustrated moans with how long it was taking him. Bucky grazed his teeth from the centre of Steve to his hips, taking advantage of the lack of hair and flattening his tongue against him, running it down in a consistent line until he reached Steve’s leg. That was when he drew off, allowing his hands to run around Steve’s thighs and squeeze the back of them, thrusting Steve’s hips further forward and closer to where they wanted to be. 

Bucky  chuckled, obviously thinking Steve deserved his thanks now.  Achingly  slowly, Bucky lowered his lips, keeping his eyes on the prize as he licked a  line  straight up Steve’s cock, caressing his tongue across the head, relishing the sound of Steve steadily groaning.  Bucky, aware of how Steve’s breathing had sped up, flattened his tongue against the base once more and dragged it up slower than ever, appreciating the noises Steve was giving him. When he reached the top, he lapped at the precum that was pooling there, tasting the sticky salt and shivering in delight. He wrapped his lips firmly around the head of Steve’s cock, suckling it. He flashed his eyes to Steve’s face, watching the pained expression that crossed his features as Steve bit down on his lip, drawing blood. Bucky chuckled around Steve’s head, resting his dick against his tongue as he did so.

“Bucky, you gotta – stop. Or not stop. You’re killing me.” Steve begged, his flat palms ba l ling into fists on the glass.  Bu c k y didn’t answer him, simply smiled before relaxing his lips, sinking down until Steve’s cock reached the back of his throat. Steve tasted like heaven in his mouth, solid and sweet and salty, making Bucky’s head spin. He began to drag Steve in and out of his mouth, his metal hand coming to rest on Steve’s ass, his other hand holding the base of Steve’s dick in place. Steve trembled under his grasp as Bucky took him to the base, feeling Steve’s hips thump back against the glass with the effort of trying not to thrust. “Oh my god,  Bucky…” 

Bucky hummed in response, Steve crying out at the feeling. His hips shook as he came suddenly, unable to give Bucky a warning as his hands flashed forward and grabbed a tight hold of Bucky’s damp hair, dragging him back so he wouldn’t choke. Surprised, but not displeased, Bucky swallowed Steve’s load and popped Steve from his mouth, raising an eyebrow as he wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. 

Steve, blushing, offers Bucky a hand up and drags him to his feet, pulling their bodies close together again. “’M sorry,” Steve mumbles, his forehead pressed to Bucky’s . “It’s been a while.”

“Don’t worry about it, doll.” Bucky captured Steve’s lips with his own, pressing his tongue into Steve’s mouth so he could taste himself. “We got all night.”

“It’s maybe best – best we move it to the bedroom.” Steve said shakily, still floating down from his sudden orgasm. “I’ve got, stuff. You know.” Bucky nodded, ignoring his own arousal and he took Steve’s hand and led him from the shower, dripping water everywhere in their rush to get back to business. 

Bucky sprang onto the bed, hearing the mattress creak beneath him and watching as Steve kneeled beside him, body still flushed from release. 

“Suppose we need to wait a while,” Steve smirked, looking down at himself as Bucky shook his head furiously. 

“I don’t think so, doll.” Bucky replied, forcing himself up and wrapping his arms around Steve’s neck to pull him down with him. He latched his lips onto Steve’s, sucking on his bottom lip and snaking his tongue between them, mewling as they connected. 

“Ah, Bucky,” Steve sighed, his attitude gone as he positioned himself over Bucky’s bare body, admiring the muscles that stood out and rippled underneath his touch. “I’ve got –“ Steve didn’t finish, diving into the drawer nearest to him bed, pulling out a bottle of lubricant. 

“What, Lush doesn’t make lube?” Bucky asked, his Brooklyn drawling making ‘lush’ sound  incredible,  Steve melting underneath it. 

“Unfortunately not. But I bet if they did, it would smell amazing.” Steve said, leaning in close to Bucky and licking a stripe across his chest. “ You  smell amazing. Been using what I’ve been giving you?” 

“And prayin’ you’d give me more.” They way he said it implied much more than the products, and Steve couldn’t help but smile at the obvious affection Bucky was lathering him in. 

“Such a sweetheart, aren’t you Buck?”  St eve  asked, fingertips grazing the expansion of  B ucky’s  chest, threatening to dip lower the more Bucky talked. 

Bucky would have replied if it hadn’t been for Steve’s fingers dipping into the hair at the base of his stomach, Steve feeling the wire there as Bucky sighed, scrambling to sit up on his elbows to watch what Steve was doing. “Are you gonna?” Bucky said, eyes black with lust as he watched Steve.

“Maybe.” Steve pulled off Bucky to squirt a generous amount of lube in his hand, warming it up to a nice temperature by rubbing his hands together. He did it methodically, staring down at Bucky’s flushed body as he did so, his dick s lowly starting to get  some life back into it. “With your pretty body all laid out for me like that, I’m going to be ready to go again in no time.”

“Oh yeah?” Bucky asked lazily, sweeping a stray bit of hair back around his head. “What are you gonna do with me then?” 

“Fuck you.” Steve replied simply, deciding that now was the perfect time to place a lubricated palm over Bucky’s dick, squeezing it sharply so that Bucky inhaled, letting his head fall back against the bed. Steve teased him, running his hand idly up and down his shaft, just listening to the sounds Bucky was breathing out, his hands grasping the bed sheets and his hips occasionally bucking up when Steve pulled off. 

Keeping a firm grasp on his dick, Steve allowed his other hand to roam over Bucky’s thighs, scraping the skin at his ba ll s as he did so, Bucky gasping in shock and pleasure. Steve squeezed there, massaging his sack with one hand and steadily pumping with the other, Bucky's forehead beginning to sweat from the stimulation. With a final squeeze, Steve slipped his fingers behind Bucky, pressing a lubricated finger against the bundle of nerves clenched tight and sensitive. Steve watched Bucky's reaction, seeing if he was okay, but Bucky's eyes were clasped  shut, his mouth lax as he breathed in deeply. 

"You alright, Buck?" Steve asked, his finger circling Bucky's hole as he awaited a reply. 

"All good," Bucky rasped, head lolling further back into the pillows. Steve took it as an invitation, pushing his finger slightly against the hole, breaching it. Bucky  moaned,  large and loud, a deep rumbling coming from the base of his throat and forcing itself up and out, stopping Steve in his tracks as he stared down at Bucky, an amused expression painted on his face. Bucky opened his eyes to see Steve's smug expression, a slight smirk on his lips and his hands pausing in their  ministrations. "Do it. Please, Stevie." Bucky begged; Steve couldn’t reject an offer so sweet, pushing his index finger further in, watching Bucky's face for signs of discomfort as he pushed it to the hilt, stopping short so Bucky could adapt. 

"More." Bucky begged. 

"Already?" Steve asked incredulously, his hand never stopping on Bucky's dick, but slower now he was buried in Bucky's ass, too. 

" More." 

Never one to refuse an offer, Steve pressed his middle finger inside Bucky, easing it past the tight ring of muscle and pulling his fingers in and out, in and out, Bucky unable to stop the string of profanities falling from his pretty mouth. With his fingers deep inside him, Steve's cock had risen to attention, semi-hard and rubbing against Bucky's thigh as he moved, trying to increase some friction around it. 

Steve scissored his fingers inside Bucky, pushing him open slightly more, desperate now to be inside him, his dick throbbing with want while he watched Bucky flush and pant, arching his back when Steve prodded him a little further inside. "Oh,  my god, Stevie." 

Steve tried to speed up, continually thrusting his fingers in and out of Bucky, not wanting to break the good thing  he ha d  going by adding another digit. Bu ck y's agoni z ing  sounds fuelled Steve's mission, th ru sting  harder and faster. He slipped in a lot easier now, hand and hole covered and slick with lub ri cant . Watching Bucky made Steve harden more, his erection whinging as it was neglected, rubbing against Bucky's thighs while Bucky commanded all the attention. 

"Oh my god, Steve, Stevie, I'm ready. I'm ready." Bucky cried out, tears forming in his eyes as Steve still shallowly fucking him on his fingers, his dick still being massaged with Steve's fist. 

"What was that?" Steve asked him, his fingers never stopping their actions when he replied. "Are you ready for me now, Buck?"

"Yes.  Yes,  please Steve – please!" Steve's cock was aching, spurred on by Bucky's moans and he couldn’t deny the man any longer, especially when he looking so pretty and torn apart, tears rolling down his cheeks and hands clenched against the mattress, lips pouting and hair a mess. Bucky's body was ridgid with pleasure, he rocked himself back and forth on Steve's fingers, thrusting his hips up against Steve's hand all the while begging for more. 

Steve reluctantly pulled his fingers from Bucky, removing his hand from his engorged cock. Not wanting to waste any time with  Bucky  looking so sweet, he grabbed a condom and  squirted a generous amount of lube across his palms, covering his own erection in the smooth and sticky substance, eyes rolling back into his head as he finally got some sort of friction. Steve lined himself up behind Bucky, looking into his eyes and licking his lips, the man before looking more beautiful than he had ever seen him before.

"Yeah?" Steve asked him, spreading Bucky's legs wider and pulling his hips upwards, readjusting their position so they were both more comfortable. Bucky nodded; Steve wrapped both his large hands under Bucky's thighs and held onto them, his nails already digging into the flesh as he painstakingly eased himself inside, inch by inch, feeling the bu r ning heat and Bucky stretch around him, covering him until he was completely sheathed, pausing to catch his breath by fragging in great lung - fulls of air. They let out a opera of moans together, readjusting their positions; Steve waited until Bucky let out a final hiss at the discomfort, dragging himself out of him and thrusting back inside him in one solid movement, Bucky's teeth  biting deep into his lips and holding back a roar of feeling. Steve held him down, his hands sliding over Bucky's toned stomach and resting firmly on his hip bones , digging him down into the soft mattress as he built up to a steady rhythm; there was a slow  thud  and  clap  as Steve hit into Bucky's ass, the thrusts growing steadier, faster.

Steve fell forward onto Bucky, their chests meeting, Steve pulling Bucky's  thighs up with him and wrapping them around his back, his thrusts never falling short as their mouths met, hot and wet, teeth gnashing together in the effort to kiss each other. Bucky bit Steve's lower lip, moaning into it when Steve ground into him, rolling his hips into the action and running his hands up from Bucky's waist, grasping the side of Bucky's head and the other hand knotted in his hair. "Bucky," he bit out, force behind the words as they shucked together, trying to hold the pace. 

"Who the hell is Bucky?" The man growled, finger nails now dragging themselves across Steve's back, pushing Steve's body closer to him. Gasping, Steve realised he had lost control with Bucky like this, meeting his thrusts with a pound of his own hips, his cock knocking between them, precum staining both their stomachs. 

"J-James, James!" Steve stuttered, sinking his head to Bucky's shoulder, kissing there and biting rhythmically, pulling at Bucky's hair whenever he moaned.

Steve's jaw clenched as he pulled back from Bu ck y , his Christian name falling from his lips as he sped up, his own fingernails scarring the man beneath him, mewling at the heady feeling it was giving him. He felt himself building up again, but he didn’t want to stop, not with Bucky like this and not with the rolling waves of pleasure that he felt every time Bucky whispered his name or cried out profanity. Bucky moaned at the loss of contact as Steve slipped out of him, but it was quickly replaced by a purr of approval  as Steve threw Bucky's legs across his shoulders, replacing his dick immediately back inside of him. The new position allowed Steve to slide in further, to the hilt – and Bucky  screamed  when Steve's cock slipped against a ridge inside of him, causing his vision to blur and stars flash before his eyes. The added pressure was incredible, Bucky's hands made their way up to Steve's headboard, holding tightly onto it as Steve rode him out, a flurry of sounds coming from both of them as they neared their comple tion. Steve tugged at Bucky's hair and that only made him  want more, spurring Steve on further as he began to wear himself out – he wanted Bucky to be completely undone, completely  fucked,  he slammed himself harshly inside Bucky, ensuring to hit the sweet spot that had Bucky sobbing for release. 

"Steve,  Stevie,  I think I'm – I'm going to-" Bucky cried out, tearing leaking from his eyes. Bucky's cock was bright red and leaking, throbbing in a way that looked almost painful, but also made Steve want to swallow it down.  Steve released Bucky's hair and slid his hand across Bucky's body, sliding down to the base of Bucky 's cock, smoothing over it before catching ip up in his fist and gripping it with added friction. Bucky almost tipped over the edge, the touch desired beyond belief, Bucky choking on a sob as Steve pulled at him. 

"Just like that, oh my god, Steve." In time to his thrusts, Steve pumped Bucky's dick, slick with lube, pounding inside him and  rubbing him off  until  he felt his  body stutter,  dragging in a gasping breath  as he  felt  himself lose all  control, tugging on Bucky's cock until he felt a  wet  stickiness  pouring over h is hand, the ring of muscles  closing around his and squeezing him dry, throwing him over the edge into his  second climax of the  night. Their grunts and screams mixed together into the air, Steve falling onto top of Bucky with a heavy pant, both of them glistening with sweat and cum. 

"That was amazing." Bucky sighed, trying to catch up with his breathing. Steve was having a little trouble himself, leaning  across to where the lube was kept and rifling inside the draw, pulling out his emergency inhaler and taking a few quick puffs. Bucky couldn’t stop laughing at this, his chest heaving as Steve gasped for air, literally  dying  in front of him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Do you seriously keep that in there with your lube  in case you get too excited  in some down time with yourself?" Bucky laughed, unable to control it as Steve scowled at him. This wasn’t the end to the night he'd been looking for.

When he caught his breath, Steve smacked Bucky lightly on the cheek, him still laughing. He  looked ridiculous, sweaty and sticky and unraveled  and fucked, but he looked delicious , too.  "We might nee d a shower ... another one."

"Yeah, maybe I can actually get my massage now too," Bucky winked, springing up from the bed and wincing. "I shouldn’t have done that." Steve laughed, extending a hand to him and guiding him to the bathroom, setting the water on warm and allowing Bucky to bathe him,  the sweet smell of soap cleansing both of them of the scent of sex. 

They  wrapped up in warm, fluffy towels, Steve teasing Bucky until he let him brush his hair, carefully  combing  all the tangles out of his long locks, kissing the scar of his metal and flesh where they fused, whispering sweet words to each other. They changed the sheets and settled down together, hoping Clint didn’t notice Bucky's unslept in bed in the morning. 

Epilogue   


In the morning, Bucky was sure to slip out of Steve's room early so Clint wouldn’t suspect a thing. He made his way down to Sam's first to make breakfast for the group, carefully arranging a menu with Sam for all of them. Sam didn’t mention how good Bucky smelled. And then it clicked. He didn’t say anything, allowing Bucky to continue as if he didn’t know, whipping up the eggs to make them Steve and Natasha's favourite - scrambled. 

When the rest of the team joined them, none of them said a word. Steve was late, oddly enough, which slipped nobody's attention. They pretended to ignore it, letting Bucky walk around all of them and serve their food, casually chatting to one another until Steve made his way down to them. He surprising managed to keep a blush from spreading across his face when he saw Bucky, smiling politely to him when he took his seat, accepting his eggs with nothing but a "thank you."

The team didn’t say it, but they had all noticed it. Bucky smelled  really good  this morning. And not how he usually smelled, like that soap Steve had persuaded them all with. He  smelled like a mix of scents; sweet and spic y and so overwhelmingly  Steve.  They didn’t think Bucky had noticed, and neither had Steve. They acted rather formally, considering they had just fucked the night before, Tony suspected it was for the benefit of the team, but it was hardly working. 

It was Darcy who piped up first. "Bucky, have you been going to Lush  without me? ' Cos you smell like, amazing." She dropped her eyes back to her plate, seeing oblivious to what she'd just started. The others joined in, desperate to jump on board this ship before it sailed away.

"Yeah, actually Bucky, what  have  you been using? I need some of that." Clint said next, leaning in and taking a dramatic inhale in Bucky's personal space. "It's weird. When I showered this morning I couldn’t find any products in there. I thought we had ran out." 

"I had some more in my room," Bucky shrugged, his eyes trained on his bacon roll in front of him. Steve didn’t move. 

"I don’t know, the bathroom didn’t smell like anything this morning? It didn’t even look like it had been used. Water was still boiling."  Clint shoved his eggs into his mouth, taking a long sip of his tea before standing up and shoving his dishes in the sink, throwing himself over the back of the sofa and flicking on the TV. 

Bucky and Steve shared a look over their breakfasts, quickly flashing their eyes away from each other before anyone caught them looking. 

"You know, it's weird, Bucky almost reminds me of someone now I think about it." Tony said, staring at the ceiling as if in deep thought. "What's the name. It's on the tip of my tongue." 

"Stanley?" Natasha offered up.

"No, no... That's not it..." Tony contemplated, bantering with the team as Bucky and Steve stared  at them, deadpanned. "Sebastian?"

"No, what about Scott? Was that it?" Bruce joined in, waving a fork around.

"It was about that. Almost like..." Tony's eyes fell on Steve, his brows falling low over his eyes. "Like Steve, actually."

The team hummed in agreement, nodding their heads as Steve finally,  finally  blushed bright red, giving them all the look they'd been waiting for. "What are you guys trying to say?" Steve managed to mumble out, coughing a little to clear his throat. Bucky put his head flat on the table.

Darcy shrugged her shoulders, glaring over at Tony. "Remember when I said  you needed to sound proof this place? Yeah. You really need to." The whole room went quiet, waiting for Bucky and Steve's reaction. But Clint got there first.

He slammed his hands on the table, shaking his head at Tony.  "Yes.  Y ou really need to. I have heard things I never want to hear again in my life."

"The floors aren't soundproof either, if you're wondering." Sam said, watching Steve. "And we were all down here last night. When Steve went to bed... And Bucky really wanted his trail mix from his room." 

"Do not expect any more treats from Lush. Ever. Again." Steve ground out, Bucky laughing as he reached his hand across the table, holding Steve's. 

"Worth it." The team agreed, laughing together as Steve blushed. Looking over at Bucky, Steve agreed – working in retail really  had  been worth it.

THE END. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me and Niamh are VERY thankful for you all for reading! Niamh is currently living without internet at the moment, so I doubt she'll be able to see your lovely comments but give a big round of applause for our own Lush employee Niamh (Rogers)!


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